Humanity
by JemWolf
Summary: Set a few months after the Promised Day, Brigadier General Mustang and his team are tasked with finding and shutting down now-illegal chimera labs. What he finds is far more than he bargained for, and a call to the Elric brothers is in order. Maybe with some help, they can start to right another wrong.
1. Discovery

The soldiers carefully made their way through the lab, searching for any remaining scientists, as well as any more of their unfortunate experiments.

"Y'know, I'm really glad efforts are being made to shut down these chimera labs," One man commented. A few others nodded in agreement.

"Definitely," replied another, "Do you remember what happened with that Tucker case?"

There were murmurs of affirmation throughout the group.

"Heard he used a human; a little girl..."

"I heard it was his own daughter."

"That's just sick."

They fell silent again not too long after; the only sounds remaining being the swish of their blue uniforms and the clomp of military boots.

"Hey!"

The soldiers turned and looked in the direction of their comrade who had spoken out. She was pointing at something on a wall.

"Look at this..."

A couple of the other soldiers made their way over curiously. One of them ran their hand over an odd looking patch of stone.

"Transmutation marks..." He murmured, "Someone call Mustang!"

The communications officer immediately radioed the other group in the building.

After a few seconds, a young voice answered, "Master Sergeant Kain Fuery speaking, what's your status?"

"We've found evidence of alchemy being used to seal off a room; thought the brigadier general would like to know."

There was a sound of confirmation and a moment of silence as Fuery relayed the message, "Understood; expect us there in a few minutes."

The officer confirmed the message and location before cutting the signal once again. The other soldiers continued searching the area for anything else out of place while they waited for the other group to meet up.

* * *

It didn't take long for the soldiers to meet up with the other group. Mustang wasted no time getting the information on their findings and inspecting the transmuted wall for himself.

The brigadier general hummed in thought and pressed a hand and an ear up against the wall. His eyes widened and he quickly stepped away.

"Get back!" He commanded.

The blue-clad soldiers scrambled back as Mustang clapped his hands and placed them on the wall. The wall sparked with alchemy and began to reshape into a haphazard doorway. Soldiers froze or stepped further back as horrible keening and shrieking could be heard, previously muffled by the stone wall. Mustang threw open the newly-transmuted door, and there was a collective feeling of unease throughout all of the soldiers.

The room was dark, but it was still easy to tell that it was positively stuffed with cages of various sizes. The air was rank with disease and death, as well as the sounds of creatures throwing themselves against bars or crying out to voice their pain. Once the room had been lit, it didn't take long to discover that most of the creatures were chimeras.

Mustang cursed as he noticed a small stove, likely there to warm the unwelcoming room, but the folders and papers haphazardly shoved into it were what he was concerned about. He attempted to pull a couple out, but they disintegrated at the slightest touch.

"They destroyed all of their research," he growled as a few of the soldiers looked through the cages.

Many of the chimeras were either dead, or close to it. The few that seemed relatively aware were such sad amalgamations of who-knows-what, that it was likely the most humane course of action would be to euthanize them.

One of Mustang's subordinates, Havoc, took a step further into the room, noticing something odd in the far corner. Something had been hastily covered with a sheet. It looked like it was probably just another cage containing a chimera, but why go through the effort of trying to hide it? Havoc frowned and pulled the sheet away. In the large cage lay what, upon first glance, looked to be a large dog with it's back towards him. Upon closer inspection, the ears were more like a rabbit's, and what the second lieutenant could see of the tail was far too long to be a dog's. The chimera was so still, Havoc assumed it to be dead until it heaved a weak sigh and turned it's head to look up at the human. Havoc's breath caught in his throat.

"...Boss?" He called weakly for his superior, "You... might wanna see this."

Mustang huffed a bit before heading over to his subordinate, still upset about the destroyed research papers, "What've you found, Havoc?"

The second lieutenant simply pointed at the chimera in front of him. Mustang nearly rolled his eyes, "Yes Havoc, this place is full of unsettling creatures-"

"Sir." Havoc interrupted impatiently, "Sir, just look at it."

Mustang blinked, a bit put off by his subordinate's behavior. He crouched down to better see what had Havoc so worked up.

"I don't see what-" the words died on his lips as the chimera turned from Havoc to focus on him. There were far too many beats of silence before he was able to speak again.

"No..." He turned to Hawkeye, who was standing close behind him.

"Hawkeye."

"Sir."

"You and Fuery... Get ahold of the Elrics."

Hawkeye blinked, but otherwise showed no outward surprise to the brigadier general's behavior, "Right away, sir," she replied, and gave a crisp salute before turning to find the young communications expert.

Mustang watched her go before sitting back and finding his attention pulled back to the chimera once again. It regarded him with dark eyes.

Dark eyes that were far too human.

* * *

 **Hello and welcome to my first fanfiction since… 2015? Anyways, yes, I am now addicted to FMA. It was beautiful and I laughed and cried and fell in love with (almost) every single character. I'm now working on getting the entire manga and making my way through FMA '03.**

 **As for this fic… it's honestly mostly self-indulgent for me, but I hope you guys like it anyways. I've already finished the next chapter and I've started on the third. I have no idea how far I'm gonna go with this, but I'm honestly excited to see where this idea takes me.**

 **Hope you guys like it,**

 **JemWolf**


	2. Freedom

Mustang had ordered that the chimeras be removed from the building and checked for any human characteristics. It took the better part of an hour just to get all of the cages out of the lab. Once outside, the creatures had been looked over. It seemed that other than the one Havoc had found, the only vaguely human characteristics were found on decreased chimeras, as though they simply couldn't handle the strain... Though perhaps that wasn't too far off. Mustang ordered testing on all of them just to be absolutely certain.

The chimera that Havoc found didn't seem to be in obvious pain, but it was unclear how aware it was at all. Mustang had considered taking it out of the cage that held it captive, but decided that the safest bet would be to leave it for the time being. All efforts of communicating with the beast had been in vain, and he couldn't tell just how animalistic it was; if it would remain calm or attack once set free.

The brigadier general wasn't quite sure why he thought it so important to contact the Elric brothers, but he had a gut feeling that they should know. Perhaps it was due to their close involvement in the Tucker incident, though he supposed said involvement could potentially cause the situation to become even worse. The Elrics were better at human alchemy than he was, he reasoned, and there was no one he trusted more to find a potential cure for this chimera.  
 _  
If there was one_ , his mind unhelpfully supplied.

He tried to force the thought away, but it clung on tight and refused to let go. He swallowed thickly. The truth of the matter was grim. With the research notes destroyed, there was even less of a chance they could reverse what was done, and Mustang vaguely recalled that Tucker had said something about being unable to split a perfect chimera. The brigadier general sincerely hoped that the Sewing Life alchemist had been lying.

"Sir."

Mustang flinched out of his thoughts, taking his head out of his hands and looking up to see Hawkeye standing at attention in front of his desk. She gave him a look that told him she had called for him more than once.

"Hawkeye," he replied, sloppily returning her salute so the captain could stand at ease.

"The Elric brothers have arrived," she stated, though the announcement proved unnecessary as the door to his office slammed open.

Ed stomped loudly towards the brigadier general's desk, Al following behind. Normally, Alphonse would be apologizing and trying to calm Ed down, but today he seemed to have more pressing matters on his mind as he followed his brother.

"Where are they?" Edward growled as soon as he caught sight of Mustang.

Mustang blinked impassively, "Well hello to you too, Fullmetal," he replied with a half-hearted smirk. As much as he usually loved to annoy his former subordinate, his heart just wasn't in it today.

"The chimeras, Mustang, where are they?" He repeated with a snarl.

Mustang sat back in his chair and rubbed his eyes with a sigh. He glanced up at Hawkeye who simply raised one brow. He was the one who'd asked her to call the Elrics. Roy looked back up at the blond boy before him and stood up.

Mustang studied Ed for a moment. Despite the burning glare in his golden eyes, the brigadier general knew enough about the boy to know that his anger was a facade. Edward was scared. Al was too, and he wasn't nearly as good at hiding it as his brother. Roy just knew they were thinking about Nina Tucker. Mustang cursed at himself; why had he called them? This was a terrible idea... still, what was done was done. He stifled another sigh and stood up a bit straighter.

"Follow me." He ordered and began walking out of the office, giving Hawkeye a small nod as he passed. She returned it, knowing she was in charge until he returned.

Ed and Al scrambled to follow. Usually, Ed would shoot Mustang a deadly glare and a venomous retort, but today, he seemed almost relieved to walk behind his former superior; perhaps because he was nervous about what he would find.

Roy would glance at the boys every so often as they walked to his car. It had been a while since the events of the Promised Day, and a while since he'd seen the Elric brothers as well. Alphonse was looking a lot healthier, but he could see he still walked with a limp and struggled to keep pace. Mustang slowed down a bit to compensate.

Ed had grown, he noticed. Though the blond wasn't tall by any sense of the word, Mustang wasn't sure he could get away with calling him a pipsqueak anymore. Mustang blinked as he noticed that Ed was actually wearing decent clothes. No black leather and flashy red coat; but instead a simple collared shirt. Mustang wasn't sure why, but he almost missed the tacky Fullmetal style.

Ed impatiently tapped his fingers against the car door as Mustang revved the engine and began to drive. He didn't speak a word, but Mustang could see the gears in his head turning. He was already going over various scenarios and solutions as he stared out the window.

Alphonse had attempted to hold a conversation with Roy, but they both found themselves too anxious and soon fell quiet once again, the only sounds the rumble of the engine and the surrounding traffic.

Mustang cursed under his breath at yet another slow driver in front of him and gripped the steering wheel tighter. Ed looked about ready to jump out of the window if they didn't arrive soon.

They finally made it around the other vehicle and Mustang drove faster than he probably should have to their destination. Upon pulling up and parking, Ed narrowed his eyes and glared at his former superior. Al just looked wary.

"A lab, Mustang?" Ed's voice was low, "You took them away from one lab just to lock them up to be experimented on in another one?"

Mustang put his hands up in a calming gesture, "Calm down Fullmetal, I've got my own subordinates in there making sure no one harms the chimeras; the only testing going on is checking to see just how many were made using humans."

Ed frowned, but the explanation seemed to placate him for now. He moved his gaze back to the lab as they got out of the car to walk in.

"Um... How... How many were fused with humans, sir?" Alphonse piped up.

Mustang glanced at him and hesitated before answering, "...So far, only one human chimera has been confirmed alive."

The brothers glanced at each other and back at Mustang. The wording of that statement had not gone unnoticed.

"...And how many dead, Mustang." It wasn't so much a question from Ed as an order.

The brigadier general paused once again, hand on the door to the lab, "... Last I heard it was at least eight confirmed."

Ed's hands tightened into fists and he muttered obscenities about the scientists responsible under his breath. Al took a sharp breath and paled slightly. Mustang noticed that the younger brother took a wary glance at his older sibling. He briefly wondered why Al suddenly seemed even more apprehensive but decided to ignore it and opened the door to the lab.

He stepped inside and held the door open for the brothers. They both hesitated, and with a great feeling of foreboding, followed Mustang into the building.

* * *

Al kept an eye on his brother as they followed Mustang through the hallways. He hadn't forgotten what Ed had done to Tucker upon realizing what the man had done to Nina and Alexander. The people responsible weren't here this time, but Al was still worried his brother might take out his anger on someone. It was unlikely, but he just couldn't get the image of Ed almost killing Tucker out of his mind. He shuddered slightly at the memory.

 _You nearly did the same thing_ , he told himself and took a breath to try and calm down. He didn't like that memory much either, though... He didn't quite regret it.

Mustang stopped by a door, "You sure you're ready?"

Al nodded, and Ed looked like he was ready to shove Mustang out of the way to get through. He didn't have to, since the brigadier general opened the door to let them in.

They stepped in and froze. They hadn't been ready, not really, but nothing would've prepared them anyways.

In the middle of the room sat a large cage. Inside sat the chimera. Al's breath caught in his throat. It obviously wasn't her, but the way it was sitting, the way it was looking at him... It was just too similar to-

"Nina..." His brother whispered. He was thinking of her too.

Al swallowed and nodded, unable to take his eyes off of the creature. It was about the size of a small human, a teenager or young adult perhaps, but it was covered in mangy brown and tan fur. Two long ears, not unlike a rabbit's, twitched around to catch different sounds, and a long, furry, lizard-like tail wrapped limply around its paws.

But it's eyes... Those were clearly human eyes. Dark brown and far too intelligent to belong to the pitiful, malnourished creature in front on them. The fur it did have was patchy and falling out, likely due to the terrible conditions it had suffered in, and it had a sad little tuft of hair on top of its head and down its neck where a sort of mane probably should have been.

Al couldn't stop looking at it, and it seemed to be staring right back. The exchange was broken as his brother spoke up, causing the chimera to look away.

"Boy or girl?" Ed asked softly.

"Pardon?" Mustang was caught off guard.

"The chimera," Ed stated, "is it male or female?"

Mustang blinked, "It... According to the tests, it's a female-"

"Then refer to her as one," Ed growled, "Hasn't she been dehumanized enough?"

Al could've sworn the chimera perked up slightly at the statement.

Ed glanced at his brother who nodded in return. It was high time this chimera was free. Together they walked up to the cage and knelt down beside it. Ed went to unlock the cage when he noticed something.

"There's... no door," he stated, slightly confused.

Al was surprised as well; why wouldn't a cage have a door? Unless...

"We think they must have transmuted cages around the chimeras. Much easier than trying to purchase that many without question, as well as make it more difficult for more... intelligent chimeras to escape," Mustang confirmed Al's line of thought.

Upon closer inspection, he could find patches of transmutation marks, confirming the theory. He shook his head and frowned in disgust. Al looked towards his brother to find a similar expression as Ed looked at the chimera thoughtfully.

The chimera was still sitting, though she seemed tense, and was eyeing both brothers warily.

Ed lifted his hands to clap, but stopped, remembering himself. He sighed and glanced at Al, "Al, could you make a door please?"

Al nodded and clapped, feeling the hum of alchemic energy run through him as he placed his hands on the bars. The cage sparked with the energy, and a door began to form.

The chimera panicked. She cried out and pressed herself as far away from the alchemy as she could, shivering. Luckily it wasn't a very difficult transmutation, so it didn't last very long. Al quickly removed his hands from the cage. He felt awful for scaring her.

Mustang had taken a couple worried steps forward.

"I'm such an idiot," Ed mumbled to himself, "Of course she'd be afraid of alchemy, that's why she's a chimera in the first place."

Al put a hand on his shoulder, "Look, I feel bad too, but it was the quickest way. Besides, she seems to be calming down again, see?"

Now that the transmutation was over, and the last of the sparking energy had dissipated, the chimera was indeed calming slightly. She still looked wary, but also slightly relieved, probably because the alchemy hadn't been used on her.

Ed seemed to take heart in this, and after a brief pause to take a deep breath, grabbed the door and swung it open on newly-transmuted hinges. The chimera's ears perked up at this. Who knew how long it had been since she had been outside of a cage on her own free will? Despite that thought, the chimera didn't move from her spot.

The brothers were confused, didn't the chimera want to be free?

Mustang watched for a moment before he seemed to think of something, "Try stepping back a little, give it- give her some space. She might think you're going to hurt her."

Ed looked like he was about to argue, but it seemed he realized Mustang was right. He and Alphonse scooted back a short distance and sat down, making themselves as small and non-threatening as they could.

The chimera seemed surprised once again, but still didn't move. Her gaze flicked between the boys before coming to rest squarely on Mustang. The two blonds turned to look at the brigadier general. The man seemed unsure of what to do.

Al gave him a half smile, "Sit down, Sir," he spoke softly, "Relax."

There was a moment's hesitation before the man lowered himself to the floor as well. Al knew Mustang would never admit it, but he could tell the brigadier general was nervous.

There was a soft huff from the chimera, sounding almost like a sigh of relief, and she took her first tentative step into freedom.

* * *

 **There we go! I wanted to wait to post chapter 2, but I figure maybe it'll help motivate to keep writing if I put it up. Also I'm incredibly impatient. I wish I could just think of the story and have it write itself, y'know? Ah well. This chapter went through a couple rewrites before I was finally reasonably happy with it; I just couldn't seem to get the dialogue right.**

 **Anyways, I drew a cover for the fic today! I'm actually pretty happy with it for once in my life. Yes, that is the chimera on the cover, though she looks a lot better there than she does in this and the next couple of chapters.**

 **Please leave a review and let me know what you think! If there's any tips you can give to better write these characters (and write in general) it would be super appreciated.**

 **Until next time,**

 **JemWolf**


	3. Human

Ed's breath caught in his throat when the chimera stepped out of the cage. He'd known from the moment he'd stepped into the building that things were wrong, that alchemy had been used for wretched purposes; the entire lab just felt unbearably of taboo, but actually seeing her... well that was another matter entirely.

Now completely out of her old prison, the chimera was looking around the room warily, gaze constantly flicking back to the three humans nearby. Uncovered by bars and shadows cast by the cage and standing in the bright white light of the room, it was even easier to see just how mistreated she had been.

Ed could count the creature's bones through her mangy fur, as well as numerous scars. His eyes widened as he looked closer at the injuries. They seemed… familiar, as if he's seen similar ones before. He frowned as he stared to recall an assignment Mustang had once given him. It came back to him as he noticed the thick collar around her neck and saw the heavy chain at the bottom of the cage. Ed swallowed thickly, hoping he was wrong, and turned to look at Mustang, who was apparently deep in thought as he studied the chimera in front of him.

"Mustang," he whispered, though it took a couple tries to get the man to snap out of his thoughts.

The brigadier general turned to look at his former subordinate with a raised eyebrow.

Ed simply gestured back to the chimera and spoke softly, "Those scars… you don't think…?"

Mustang furrowed his brows and focused on the injuries to try and figure out what Ed was going on about. He balked a little when it hit him. The scars, both old and relatively fresh, were an assortment of scratch and bite marks. The placement and severity of some of them, as well as her limp, reminded her all too much of-

"Dog fights?" he breathed, looking back at Ed. Al gasped at the revelation.

"Chimera fights," Ed corrected, "Those idiots have been transmuting chimeras for what, for entertainment?!"

At the sound of his rising voice, the chimera had shrunk back once again. Ed forced himself to calm down.

"Sorry," he apologized softly to the creature, though he wasn't even sure if she could understand.

The chimera looked puzzled and tilted her head to look at the blonde sitting in front of her.

All three humans held their breath as she padded a couple uncertain steps towards them. She hesitated and then snorted, seeming to think better of it before making her way to the other side of the room instead.

Al looked disappointed. Ed felt the same way, but tried not to let it show.

"She's not gonna trust us right away Al," he tried to reassure both himself and his brother, "She's been through a lot; those jerks really messed her up, didn't they…"

He cursed under his breath and Alphonse looked at him, startled, "Brother?"

"This wasn't supposed to happen," Ed mumbled.

"Brother, what-?"

"This wasn't supposed to happen!" Ed repeated more forcefully, "Not again… we… we failed again, Al… couldn't save one little girl…" He slumped down and looked at the floor.

"Brother, we couldn't have possibly-" Al's words died in his throat before he could finish the sentence.

The room went eerily quiet. Ed grew uneasy. Why had his brother stopped talking? Mustang hadn't made a sound for a while either… He looked up and felt all of his breath leave him.

The chimera had, at some point, moved to stand directly in front of him. Her gaze seemed to pierce right through him.

Nobody dared to move, though Mustang was ready to jump to defend his former subordinate at any moment.

Ed sat, transfixed, as he struggled to remember how to breathe. When he finally spoke again, it was breathy and quiet.

"I'm… I'm so sorry… this wasn't supposed to happen."

The chimera's ears perked up, and she made an odd noise deep in her throat.

Ed, Al, and Mustang watch in an almost sick fascination as she shook her head and tried again. She managed a sort of humming sound and a hiss before-

"Nnnnn...not y-your...fff...fault…" the words were raspy and slurred, but they were words all the same.

Al and Mustang both gasped, but Ed just sat as if in a trance. Slowly, he reached out towards the chimera. She flinched but didn't move away. All Edward saw at that moment was a little girl and her dog.

"Fullmetal-!" Mustang wanted to reach out and yank the boy away as he pulled the chimera into an embrace. If the creature really had been used for fighting, she could very well rip Edward to shreds; did he have a death wish?!

The chimera went stiff, and her patchy fur fluffed up at the contact. As Ed shakily held her and began repeating his apology, she slowly relaxed and sat down with a soft huff.

"You're safe now," Ed whispered, "No one will hurt you again."

The chimera was quiet for a moment. Then she relaxed fully with a heavy sigh.

"S-Safe…"

Never before had anyone in the room seen a chimera cry.

* * *

The boy had hugged her. He'd talked to her like a person and apologized and _hugged_ her.

Once that had registered past her heightened fight or flight response, the dam broke. She trembled as hot, salty tears made their way down her muzzle.

 _Safe._

He'd promised she was safe now. She shouldn't have trusted him; humans were the ones who'd caused her suffering, but…

 _Human._

Somewhere deep down, though hard to find sometimes, she was human. This boy... He seemed to know that. She could smell the fear on him and his companions when they had entered the room, but when he'd hugged her, his fear-scent was gone. His apologies felt genuine. She'd meant what she'd told him; she didn't blame him for what had happened, not really. What could he have done if he hadn't known she'd existed?

She heard the other small human scoot hesitantly closer and she glanced up at him. He looked similar to the one still clinging to her neck... Relatives? She furrowed her brow a little. Yes... That seemed right... Her ears perked up slightly as she remembered earlier; he'd called the long-haired one-

"Bro-ther."

She had not expected to elicit such a strong reaction with that word. The boy hugging her had gone completely stiff, and though she couldn't see his face, she assumed it was probably similar to the look on his brother's.

The animalistic, instinctive part of her mind simply couldn't comprehend the flurry of emotion that graced his features.

Fear?

Sadness?

Confusion?

It was too much, and she finally shook herself out of the boy's grip. She backed away warily, instincts making her ever more aware of the attention on her. Even the dark-haired man seemed shocked.

"What…?" The short-haired brother barely managed to find his voice, still staring with too many expressions.

The chimera shook her head, fighting once again to regain human rationality.

"Y-you," she rasped, looking from one blonde to the other, "you broth-ers…?"

The boys send to relax, but their eyes still seemed to hold such… pain, she finally recognized.

"Yes... Yes, we're brothers," the short-haired one replied softly, making his way over to his sibling and putting a hand on his shoulder.

She made a humming sound and turned to look at the dark-haired man. He seemed the most threatening to her. She'd seen him before, but never with those boys. He didn't look similar to them, but…

"This… fath-er?"

She flinched as the long-haired one seemed to choke and the other two looked at each other in shock before, to the chimera's confusion, they slowly broke into smiles and started laughing.

"No!" The long-haired one's face was turning a brilliant shade of red, "That idiot's just a... an acquaintance! Just some annoying jerk we know!"

"Aw, Fullmetal, you wound me!" The man chuckled.

The other blonde stifled another laugh, "Mustang's just an old friend," he explained.

The chimera blinked, "Mus-tang… fr-friend," she repeated.

The man, Mustang, had stopped laughing, but he still had a soft smirk on his face. He was less threatening when he smiled, she decided.

"Mus-tang," she said again, "You… Mus-tang." She seemed to nod a little to herself before looking at the boys again. What had Mustang called the loud one?

"Y-you… F-full...Full…" she growled softly, unable to work her muzzle around the words.

"...Ed is fine," he interrupted softly, seeming to realize her struggle," and this is Al," he said, gesturing to his brother.

"Ed," the chimera nodded; that was much easier to say, "Ed, Al, Mus-tang," she looked at each one as she repeated their name, seeming pleased with herself.

She sat down and yawned widely. Staying that focused was draining, not to mention the strain of talking. She decided she wasn't going to talk any more today. It was taking all of her energy just to keep from acting like a feral animal again.

"So… we told you our names. What's yours?"

Oh.

Her name?

She… couldn't quite remember… could she?

They'd called her something, back where she'd been taken from… Was that her name?

"Name… is…" it didn't feel like a name, but it's all she remembered, "Th-thirty-seven?"

It sounded like a question, even to her, and the almost horrified looks on the humans' faces let her know that it was not a real name.

Oh well, she was too tired to think about it anyways.

* * *

Ed tried to ask for her name again, for her real name, but Mustang scooted forward and put a hand on his shoulder. He'd seen the human light leave the chimera's eyes, taking her brief moment of lucidity with it.

"Fullmetal… she's not going to answer."

The devastated look on his former subordinate's face caused the brigadier general to pause.

"...Ed?"

The boy watched the chimera sniff around the room, calmer than when they'd first let her out of the cage, but far more feral now than she had been moments ago.

"A number, Mustang… they… a number…"

Roy stayed quiet but kept his hand on Ed's shoulder. Al placed his hand on his brother's knee in comfort as well; it was obvious that he was shaken too.

"They didn't even bother giving her a… a fake name," Ed's voice shook, "Thirty-seven? How many of those were people? How many were made after her? How many are dead, Mustang?!" How-!"

"Fullmetal," Mustang interrupted, firmly but not without kindness, "This isn't your fault. She even told you that herself. I know it's easier said than done, but you can't blame yourself for what those low-lifes did to her- to all of them."

Ed didn't look entirely convinced but slowly nodded.

"Brother," Al said softly, "We can't change what's already happened, no matter how much we want to. All we can do is focus on what we can do to help here and now."

Mustang nodded in agreement; he couldn't have said it better himself... Besides, Fullmetal probably wouldn't have listened to him if he'd said it.

Ed was quiet for a moment before a look of something akin to determination crossed his face, "You're right," he said, turning to face Al and Mustang, "We _will_ find a way to help her. We'll find a way to get her normal again if it's the last thing we do."

He looked over at the chimera again. She was just sniffing around and exploring the room.

"...She doesn't deserve what happened to her, and it's up to us to make it right again."

Mustang gave him a knowing smirk. There was the Fullmetal he remembered.

"Well, I still have work to do, but I'll help in any way I can."

Ed and Al glanced at each other and back to Mustang, a familiar gleam in their eyes.

"Access to the military library?" Ed asked hopefully.

Roy grinned, "I might be able to work something out."

Fullmetal was technically retired military. That, plus Fuhrer Grumman sort of owed the Elrics quite a debt; allowing the brothers access to the military's materials should not be too difficult.

Al frowned, "What about a place to stay? I doubt we'll be allowed to stay in the barracks, with or without a chimera."

"That's true, but- Wait. _With the chimera_?" it took a moment for Roy to register what Al had said.

Both Elrics glared with such intensity, he realized just how futile it would be to argue. He should have known they wouldn't be content with leaving the chimera here.

"...Right, fine, _with_ the chimera," he steepled his fingers over the bridge of his nose, "that definitely limits your options."

"What about the Hughes'?" Al suggested, " said we were always welcome to stay."

"I'm not so sure that invitation extends to chimeras, Al," Ed countered, "Besides, if she was used for fighting, which I'm sure she was, there's a good chance she could seriously hurt and Elicia," Ed hadn't forgotten the dogs temperaments when he had once assisted the military in breaking up a dogfighting ring. Being forced to fight for survival like that… well, it really took its toll.

"Oh…" Al sounded disappointed as he realized his brother was right, "Well, where else could we go? Moving her out of central is definitely out."

Mustang had been thinking, "A house is probably for the best… More comfortable, easier for you two to keep an eye on the chimera… My subordinates either live in the barracks or in apartments… I'd say maybe Lieutenant Hawkeye, but I don't think keeping the chimera around that dog of hers is a good idea, besides the issue of space…" he tapped his chin, the Elrics looking at him expectantly, "Wait. Maybe…"

Ed grew more impatient the longer the brigadier general rambled, "What is it? Spit it out already!"

Roy looked up at his former subordinate, electing to ignore his snappy tone, "Perhaps… the Armstrong estate?"

Edward blinked in surprise; apparently, the mansion had not even crossed his mind.

"The Armstrong estate?" Al echoed, "Do you really think they'd let us stay? Especially with her, I mean…" he glanced at the chimera.

Mustang thought for another moment before nodding slowly.

"I know for a fact Major Armstrong would welcome you, and General Armstrong, well, I doubt she would ever admit it, but I think she rather respects you two," he grinned a little, "Yes, I think this might just work; I just need to make a quick phone call."

He moved to stand up and groaned a little at his now-stiff legs. Across the room, the chimera fluffed up a little and watched him cautiously.

"Careful, old man," Ed jeered, "Don't hurt yourself; want me to get your cane?"

Roy glared at the blonde before smirking, "Only if you need me to grab your platform shoes."

By the time Ed had opened his mouth to scream at the short joke, the man had already left the room.

* * *

After a few minutes, Mustang returned. He'd called up to the Armstrong estate and explained the situation. As expected, Major Armstrong was elated that the Elric brothers were once again performing such noble deeds. Roy had to hold the receiver away from his ear as Armstrong shouted as much and, Mustang was sure, the Major ripped off his shirt.

General Armstrong had not been present, but her brother had assured Mustang that she would be more than happy to help. Roy decided to take his word for it.

The brigadier general also made a quick call to Hawkeye to let her know what was going on. She told him she had everything handled, but he'd better not be doing this just to get out of finishing his paperwork. Sweat dripped from his brow as he thought he heard a gun being cocked. Roy hastily assured the captain that that wasn't the case before hanging up the phone.

The Elric brothers were in about the same places he had left them. The chimera had curled up in a corner across the room. Mustang would have thought she was sleeping had he not noticed the way her ears had perked up when he'd walked in.

He crouched down near the brothers before speaking softly, "Major Armstrong has given you permission to stay on the Armstrong estate. _With_ the chimera," he added.

Ed and Al nodded, seeming relieved and excited.

"However," Mustang continued, "There's something we should do first… and I'm not sure you're going to like it."

The smiles were gone, and Ed groaned, "Of course there's a but…"

Roy hesitated, he didn't much like the thought either, "We should probably get the chimera looked over by a vet."

"No way!" Ed nearly shouted, "What did we just say about dehumanizing her?!"

Mustang put up his hands, he had to tread carefully, "I know, but I don't think there are any military doctors that could even begin to figure out her biology as it is now, and a vet may be our best bet to make sure she's… as healthy as she can be."

Ed fumed, but Al put a placating hand on his shoulder, "I don't like the idea any more than you do, Brother, but General Mustang is right; it is her best bet."

Ed glanced at the chimera, who was still watching them from the corner where she had curled up. Mustang could see he loathed the idea, but he could also tell the boy knew he was right. Even if they could somehow convince Dr. Knox to help, there was no way to be sure he could do anything to help a chimera. It was the only way.

"Fine," Ed finally relented, "but after that, we still have another problem."

Mustang raised an eyebrow, "And what would that be?"

"How are we going to get her to the Armstrong estate?"

Roy balked. That… was certainly going to pose a problem.

* * *

 **There we go, chapter three! I want to update on Fridays, but you can see I already failed at that, so I'm just going to say Fridays or Saturdays, depending on how my schedule works out.**

 **This one was both fun and hard to write. Ten pages! That's the longest chapter I've ever written! And there's finally some light-hearted stuff getting started.**

 **As always, your reviews and follows and favorites are greatly appreciated!**

 **Thanks for reading, and I'll hopefully see you next week!**

 **-JemWolf**


	4. Pulse

Vince had no idea what to expect when he got a call from a military official.

Brigadier General Roy Mustang had called up his small veterinary practice and asked for him specifically.

"Dr. Vincent Valdis speaking, how can I help you?"

"Dr. Valdis, this is Roy Mustang, I was referred to you by Riza Hawkeye."

Vince blinked, "Oh! Ms. Hawkeye, yes, she comes in regularly," he nodded to himself, recalling the blonde woman and her dog, "She referred you? I assume that means you have a pet you'd like to bring in?"

"Er… Not exactly… Do you do house calls?"

Vince frowned, "I… Yes? What do you mean by 'not exactly'? Is it a farm animal? Or have you found an injured wild animal?"

Mustang seemed to ponder the question before finally answering, "I… suppose you could say that…"

The vet furrowed his brow, "Mr. Mustang, with all due respect, I can't help you if you don't tell me what's going on."

The Flame Alchemist sighed and hesitated for a moment, "... Look, I… It's just…"

Vince was growing impatient, what kind of general had this much trouble speaking?

Mustang evidently managed to pick up on this and tried again, "Sorry, it's just… It's a chimera," he finally managed, "We rescued a chimera."

Vince went silent as he processed that statement.

"... Dr. Valdis?"

Silent for just a bit too long, it seemed, "Sorry, yes, I'm still here, but a _chimera_? I don't think I'll be much help-"

"A vet is our only option, unfortunately," Mustang interrupted, "A regular doctor could help even less. Please, just… Come out here and try."

Though the brigadier general had said please, it really sounded more like a demand. Vince sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He didn't really have a choice, did he?

"Fine. I'll see what I can do."

Mustang gave him the address and thanked him before hanging up.

Vince set the phone back in its cradle and stared at it.

What had he just gotten himself into?

* * *

Mustang returned to the room once again, but Ed didn't really care. He was still upset about the vet situation. He hated that he knew Mustang was right about it. Ed was watching the chimera again; Al sitting quietly next to him.

The chimera had apparently had enough rest, as she had started pacing. Her limp seemed more prominent now, and it was hard to watch.

Mustang sat down just behind the brothers, eliciting a small smile from Al and a non-committal grunt from Ed.

"The vet should be on his way soon," Mustang told them.

"The one you said Captain Hawkeye goes to?" Al asked.

Mustang nodded, "He's the one she takes Black Hayate to. If she trusts him with that dog, I'll trust him… For now."

"That's good… I think," Al commented.

Mustang and Al kept talking, but Ed didn't pay attention. His focus was on the chimera again. Ed frowned, they couldn't just keep calling her "the chimera" and he certainly wasn't about to call her "Thirty-seven". Perhaps…

"Hey," he said, cutting off whatever conversation his brother and Mustang had been having.

"Fullmetal, what is it?"

"We need to call her something other than ' _the chimera_ '," Ed told them.

"Brother, are you suggesting we name her?"

"Just a nickname, Al; at least until she remembers her real name," Ed explained.

Alphonse nodded, "Oh, alright! Do you have any in mind?"

Ed tapped his chin while he thought for a moment and then grinned as he got an idea, "How about… Sabre?"

His brother just stared at him with a tired expression, "Brother… just… no,"

Ed huffed, "Oh, come on! Sabre is a cool name!"

"Brother, I'm sorry, but no. We're not calling her that."

"Fine, fine!" Ed crossed his arms and glared at Mustang, who was watching the brothers with amusement, "What about… Flamel?"

"Better, but still no."

Ed threw up his hands, "Well do you have any better ideas?"

Al hummed and looked over at the chimera as he thought about it, "Well, she looks kinda like a rabbit… maybe Hoppy?"

Ed snorted, "And you thought my suggestions were bad?"

Al frowned, "Well at least I'm not trying to come up with something 'cool'."

Edward and his brother continued trying to come up with a nickname for the chimera. Mustang watched for a couple minutes until clearing his throat to interrupt.

"What do you want?" Ed grumbled.

"Look, you said it yourself; this name is just temporary. Don't put too much thought into it."

"Oh, like you have any ideas," The blond rolled his eyes.

Mustang just glanced at the chimera, who had sat down to scratch herself like a dog. He looked her over for a moment before seeming to notice something.

"Sure I do," he said, looking back at Ed, "Call her Sev. It's not the number, but it probably won't confuse her too much until she remembers her real name."

Ed blinked and stared at Mustang for a moment, "That… isn't terrible, I guess," he looked at Al, who nodded.

"I mean, it's better than anything else we've come up with, Brother."

"Alright fine; Sev it is," he nodded and looked over at the chimera, "but we need one more opinion."

Al and Mustang just watched as Ed tried to call her over.

"Hey, chimera!" he called softly.

She had stopped pacing and was now looking at him, though she made no movement towards him.

"Come here," he said.

She lowered her head a little, but still didn't make any effort to go to him.

Ed sighed; he didn't want to do this, "... Thirty-Seven?"

The chimera's ears perked up and she stiffened slightly.

"Come here… please," he added, not wanting her to think it was a command.

She hesitated for a moment before slowly walking towards Ed, head low and tail dragging on the floor. It made Ed sick to see her so submissive.

The chimera stopped a couple feet away.

Ed made a point to avoid direct eye contact to seem less threatening as he spoke, "Can you understand me right now?"

She tilted her head warily; apparently not.

"I need you to focus, just for a moment, okay?"

The chimera huffed softly and shook her head as if to rid it of stray thoughts.

"That's it, you can do it. Can you understand me?" He asked again.

She just stared for a moment until slowly, she nodded and sat down, a small spark returning to her eyes.

"Ok, good. Look, I'm not going to call you a number, because that's awful, so… how would you feel about being called Sev?"

The chimera blinked and seemed to mull the question over for a moment.

"Just until you remember your real name," he assured.

Ed could feel Al and Mustang watching, but he continued to ignore them.

The chimera seemed to come to a decision and looked Ed in the eye, "Sev," she nodded, "Like it."

Ed grinned, "Well then, glad you like it, Sev."

The newly-dubbed Sev tilted her head a little. Her ears and tail had perked up somewhat, leading Ed to believe she felt a little happier.

She hurred softly and repeated the name to herself a few times, "Sev, Sev, Sev…"

Ed grinned once again, seeming pleased with her response, "I'm sure she would've liked Sabre just as much."

Alphonse rolled his eyes, but he was smiling good-naturedly, "Honestly, Brother, what am I going to do with you?"

"Admit that I have a cool sense of style?" Ed offered.

"Not a chance," Al and Mustang replied, resulting in a pouting Ed and a softly huffing chimera.

It sounded an awful lot like she was laughing.

* * *

Sev was acting more feral again when the vet arrived. Ed and Al had talked to her for a while, (or, more accurately, talked _at_ her) while she seemed more aware, telling her about the vet and explaining why he was coming until she couldn't seem to focus anymore. Not too long after that, some lab worker came in to tell Mustang that Dr. Valdis had arrived.

Mustang excused himself and went to escort the vet to the room, as well as more thoroughly explain the situation on the way. Roy wasn't sure what to expect of the vet, but the young, fair-haired man in front of him certainly wasn't what he was thinking. Shaking those thoughts aside, he'd introduced himself.

"Dr. Valdis, I assume?" he asked, extending a hand to shake, "I'm Brigadier General Mustang."

The vet accepted the hand and gave it a surprisingly firm shake, "It's a pleasure, sir. Please, call me Vince."

Mustang nodded, noting the young man's confidence with approval, "I know I didn't explain much on the phone-"

"You sure didn't," Vince quipped, seeming rather undeterred by Mustang's resulting glare. Too confident, perhaps.

"... Yes," Roy continued as they walked, "As you know, I told you we rescued a chimera."

Vince listened as Mustang told him what they had observed about the chimera and their assumptions about her past.

Mustang was slightly taken aback by the look that came into the vet's face as he spoke. Considering how easy-going Vince came across, the dangerous glint in his amber eyes was rather unnerving.

"...Vince?"

The young man looked up sharply as if startled, "Ah, sorry, it's just," he ran a hand through his hair, "I'm no stranger to the horrors of dogfights, Mustang. If what you say is true…" He didn't finish the thought.

Mustang didn't ask him to continue; he'd gotten the message well enough. He already knew this was going to be a difficult situation.

They arrived at the door and Mustang paused with a hand on the handle, "Remember, try to be non-threatening; the chimera-"

"I know how to handle animals, Mustang," Vince replied with forced patience.

"...Right."

With that, Mustang opened the door for the vet.

Vince stepped inside and froze. Mustang walked in behind him and closed the door.

The Elrics looked up as they entered. They seemed surprised to see the young vet and glanced at Mustang as if making sure this was the right guy.

Mustang simply nodded at them before turning to the still-frozen vet, "Doctor?"

Vince swallowed thickly, eyes locked on the chimera, "She's... like no animal I've ever seen…"

He stood still for a few moments longer before kneeling down. With slow, easy-to-follow movements, he opened his bag and pulled something out before holding it out towards Sev.

Sev had been watching the newcomer warily. She tilted her head and sniffed when he held out his hand. Her ears perked up and she took a couple steps forward. Then a couple more. And another one.

Vince sat completely still as she approached and sniffed his open palm. She eyed Vince and then the object in his hand before opening her mouth and taking it. The chimera retreated a few steps away to eat the offering.

"What was that?" Al asked as Sev sniffed in Vince's direction as if looking for more.

"A dog biscuit," he replied, and found Ed shooting a glare in his direction, "They're ah… the only food I really keep on hand," he gave Ed a sly look, "If it bothers you that much, I'll eat one myself."

He smiled a bit at Ed's disgusted expression and looked back at Sev. The vet held out another biscuit, "So... she's really part human, huh." it wasn't really a question.

She took the treat and stayed closer as she ate it. Vince looked her over while she was busy.

"My gosh," he murmured.

"What is it?" Ed asked, disgust shoved aside in worry.

"It's just… I've rarely seen animals this bad. The fact that she's even still going…" he gave a wry smile, "she's a real fighter."

It was quiet for a moment.

"So what's your plan?" Vince asked with a glance toward the brothers.

"Give her a normal, human life again," was Ed's immediate response.

"Yes, but what is your _plan_?" he asked again as he tossed a couple more biscuits towards Sev, "How are you going to make that happen?"

"...With alchemy," the reply was slower this time.

The vet gave Ed a sideways glance, "Oh? What kind?"

Ed frowned, "Bio-alchemy, obviously…"

Vince just hummed quietly in response.

Ed didn't seem to like that response, as he huffed and crossed his arms, "Well, what do you know about alchemy anyways," he muttered.

Vince shrugged, focus still on Sev, "You're right; what do I know?"

Ed didn't respond; for once, he didn't seem to know what to say. That being said, he gave Vince a disapproving look.

Sev had apparently been appeased by the offering of biscuits and sat down near Vince. He reached out and offered her a hand to sniff. She did so before licking his fingers gently.

The vet smiled and carefully moved to scratch behind one of her long ears. She flinched at first, but quickly relaxed and leaned into the touch with a rough purr.

"That's it, I'm not here to hurt you," Vince murmured, slowly petting her head and running his hand further with each stroke until he was able to reach the base of her tail, "Spine is… odd, but seems functional enough," he mused.

"Odd how?" Mustang questioned.

"It feels… wrong. Not entirely dog, but not quite human either," he gently rubbed her upper back, "and right here feels almost cat-like."

He moved his other hand from his lap and felt along her painfully visible ribcage, "Much too broad for a dog or cat, but the general shape is similar. Also, she seems to have a collarbone," he commented as he reached towards her face, but she moved away and bared her teeth slightly. Vince backed off, "Fair enough," he told her before reaching into his bag.

She sniffed hopefully, and he grabbed another biscuit with one hand as he retrieved his stethoscope with the other. Sev ate it happily as Vince pressed the stethoscope to her back and listened to her breathing. He frowned a little as he moved to listen to the opposite lung.

"...What is it?" Al asked, noticing the look on his face.

The vet hummed in thought, "Both lungs are functioning, but… I think one may be smaller than the other," he leaned back and rubbed his chin, "If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say it's likely due to the size difference in the species used."

Alphonse looked worried, "Is that… could she…"

"It shouldn't kill her, no," Vince assured, "As long as she isn't overworked, they should hold up alright."

Al sighed softly in relief as Vince went to listen to Sev's heart. The chimera shifted a little; seeming to feel a bit impatient.

The vet nodded a little as he found the steady beat, "Heart seems alri-"

There were a few seconds where Vince just froze.

"Um," Ed spoke up at Vince's sudden silence, "Is something wrong?"

Dr. Valdis was confused. He moved the stethoscope a few times just to be sure he was hearing correctly, "This… can't be right…"

"Vince?" Mustang spoke this time, "What can't be right?"

"I… well… it's just that…" he moved the stethoscope again, confusion slowly turning into an almost fascinated horror.

"What?" Ed snapped, worry making him more impatient, "Spit it out!"

Vince swallowed, "She's got… three hearts."

* * *

The room went silent as everyone processed this information.

Sev snorted and pulled away from the stethoscope, the last of her food-bribed patience worn out. She turned in a couple circles and laid down before anyone spoke again.

"She's got… but… how does that work?" Al managed at last.

Vince sat back on his feet and ran a hand through his hair, "I mean, I knew her organs would be... weird, to say the least, but… this is…" he took a breath, " Okay… Okay, so best I figure, she's got one decently functional heart. The beat is strong, maybe slightly irregular, but consistent. The other two…" he pauses.

"The other two?" Mustang presses.

Vince seemed to try and search for the right words, "They're… basically useless, I think. They're both really small," he pauses, "I mean, they're beating -rather quickly, in fact, probably to make up for the size- but I don't think they're really helping in any way,"

Ed remained silent as he mulled over the new information, "So… It isn't hurting her, at least?" he finally asked.

The vet is quiet for a moment, seemingly thinking of how best to answer, "... Honestly, I don't know."

Edward frowned and folded his arms a bit tighter. That wasn't the answer he was hoping for. He looked up to glance at Sev, who had begun to doze off. Renewed determination showed on his face.

"We're going to help her, no matter what it takes," he declared.

He'd failed a little girl once; he wasn't going to do it again.

* * *

 **Wow, ok I'm so sorry; that took way longer than I planned. This chapter did not wanna get written. First I got stuck, then there was a family emergency, then I got stuck again and then it got rewritten like two and a half times but it's done! I did it! I dunno if I'm 100% happy with it, but I'm tired of rewriting it for now.**

 **I hope you guys like Vince! I wasn't planning on putting a lot of OCs in this, but seeing as we never saw a vet in the series, it was kinda necessary. Side note: I now know a lot more about general medical tools and veterinary practices in the early 1900s than I ever planned. Did you know dog biscuits were invented in the 1800s? Wild.**

 **Special thanks to my beta, Arath, who helps catch my spelling mistakes, dumb ideas, bad pacing, and has enough knowledge about anatomy and biology to make it seem like my medical writing has some sort of logic behind it! You're the best my dude!**

 **Hopefully the next chapter won't take so long, but classes are about to start back up, so... we'll see.**

 **Thanks for reading! Reviews, critiques, and ideas are always greatly appreciated!**

 **-Jem**


	5. Return

Sev was getting antsy. That vet had been looking at her for a while, and alright, the stroking felt… pretty nice, and those biscuit things? Well, compared to what she'd been eating, they were not bad in the slightest.

At that moment, those had been the only things keeping her still as the vet put that thing on her chest. Then the people in the room had sort of frozen for some reason. Without any food or attention, she scooted away from the newcomer in the white coat again. No purpose sticking around him if he had nothing to offer; he made her nervous. Reminded her a little too much of some other white coats…

Sev shook herself off. She was tolerating him because of the food, and the brothers seemed to trust him. She trusted the brothers.

The people in the room seemed to come back to their senses as she scratched herself behind an ear. They talked for a bit when-

"Sev? Sev, can you understand me? Sev?"

The chimera tilted her head and blinked. That was… oh! She shook her head a little and blinked again. Sev was her! She was Sev!

She looked at the speaker and made a soft hurring noise to show she was listening. Listening was so exhausting… still. She was human, yes? Humans could sit and listen. She made herself focus again.

"-ie down?"

Oh no, she hadn't listened well enough. She tilted her head in confusion.

Al had smiled patiently and repeated himself, much to her relief, "Could you please lie down?"

"On her side," the white coat man had added, not seeming to realize she could understand him herself.

She gave the vet as much of a Look as she could muster, but with a little more coaxing from Al, she complied. Gingerly, she lowered herself down and flopped to one side. Sev flinched as the vet took each leg and moved it around, but held still at the request of Ed and Al… and a couple more biscuits.

White-coat-man grabbed her hind leg and she growled slightly before she could think not to. Her thoughts became more muddled as the movement jostled an older injury. He was more gentle after that.

He did a couple more things that she wasn't particularly bothered by and then spoke to the brothers and Mustang.

The long-haired one- Ed, she reminded herself- seemed to get upset by something the vet said, but Al and Mustang calmed him back down. She yawned, not paying close enough attention to understand the words spoken.

"Sev?"

She opened her eyes slowly. When had she dozed off? Sev sat up and stretched a little; it didn't matter, Ed was talking and she had to focus again.

"Ok Sev, there's a couple things we need to do, alright?"

She blinked before nodding tiredly; a noncommittal grunt showing that she was at least somewhat listening.

Ed looked at her for a moment before continuing, "First, we need to get you cleaned up, though… actually, that might wait until we get you to the Armstrong estate."

Another nod.

"And…" he paused as if looking for the right words, "you've gotta get vaccinated."

Sev blinked and tilted her head. The word sounded familiar, but… her ears twitched hesitantly; she didn't like how Ed had said it. Still, she trusted him. He'd promised she was safe now, right?

She glanced over at white-coat-man. He was taking a small box and what looked like a few small bottles from his bag. Sev looked back at Ed and tilted her head again in question.

"Well, it's just… We don't know if you've ever gotten them, and the way you are now…" He grimaced a bit, "Well, Vince says your immune system is probably all messed up, so…better safe than sorry."

He turned back to look at the vet, leaving Sev even more confused than when she started.

White-coat-man (Vince? Was that what Ed had called him?) scooted back over to her holding a- oh. Her ears laid flat on her neck at the sight of the needle. Needles were bad. They meant bad things were going to happen. She would wake up hurting and-

"Sev."

She looked at Al with a cloudy expression.

"It's alright," he spoke softly and moved to stroke her shoulder, "You'll be alright, this is going to help you. We don't want to hurt you, I promise."

She'd flinched when he touched her, but stayed still. He continued to soothe her and keep her focus on him to calm her down, but she started shivering anyways. Ed had joined him at some point, but hung back a little so she didn't feel overcrowded.

She felt the vet touch her other shoulder.

Sev looked back.

* * *

She breathed in and sneezed, the dirty floor mixed with grime and sweat and blood and _fear_ wasn't sitting well with her sensitive nose. She didn't have time to think about that though; her attacker was coming from behind. The chimera let them get close, let them think they had the upper hand before whirling around and clamping her jaws on whatever got close enough.

There was a gasp and some shouting as the taste of iron hit her tongue. The people around the ring cheered or yelled. She bit down harder. She wasn't going to die today. She felt something grasping her muzzle, trying to pull her off and she snarled, wrestling to keep her hold.

Something grabbed her collar and _yanked_. She let go as the force made her choke. Hot blood dripped down her muzzle as she thrashed to get out of the grip.

More attackers? What a dirty trick. Wouldn't be the first time; those people would do anything for their amusement. There were four now. The one she had initially taken down, one going to that one's aid, and two more coming for her. The bigger of those two was the one who had her by the collar.

She twisted free from the grip and leaped out of the way as the enemy tried to grab her again. She darted under the bigger one, swinging her tail at their legs to trip them as she went, and lunged for the smaller one, jaws open. The shouting got louder.

The chimera bit down on a leg and yelped. That _hurt_. She tried to bite down harder to no avail, there was no give under her teeth. The delay proved enough for the other attacker to get back up and wrestle her to the ground.

No.

She couldn't die.

Not yet.

She writhed and bit and scratched and tried to get away but they were putting their full weight on her and holding her down and she couldn't reach them to fight back and she was keening and trying to get away but she couldn't breathe she couldn't move she was going to die.

She was going to die.

She was dying.

* * *

Vince was checking the range of motion in Sev's limbs when she growled at him.

"Injury on the left ankle that never healed quite right," he said, working the leg more gently as Sev calmed back down.

Mustang was standing towards the front of the room and keeping out of the way; there wasn't much he could do to help at the moment. He watched as Vince finished looking over the chimera to the best of his ability.

The vet turned to face him and the Elrics once he finished.

"In general, she's… about as well as can be expected," he said, "There's no real way for me to tell what her organs are like, but her major, fixable, issues to my knowledge are malnutrition, cleanliness, and risk of a bad immune system."

"So what?" Ed questioned, "We feed her and give her a bath and she's good to go?"

"He mentioned a bad immune system too, Brother," Al reminded him and turned to look at Vince, "So how do we help that?"

"Well," the vet rubbed the back of his neck, "We have no way of knowing if she ever got vaccines, so that would be my suggestion. If she has, it won't harm her to get them again, but if she hasn't, then she really should have them."

Mustang noticed Ed seemed to get uncomfortable at this explanation, and the older Elric seemed like he was about to argue. He was about to step in when Al did it for him. They argued in hushed voices, so he couldn't tell exactly what was said, but he thought he caught something about needles being evil in the conversation.

The argument didn't last too long and Al appeared to be the winner as Ed sulked a little.

Ed turned to wake Sev from her doze and explain what was going to happen as Vince reached into his bag to grab a box of syringes and a few bottles of what Mustang assumed were various vaccines.

The brothers switched places so Al could distract and comfort the chimera from the incoming needle, seeing as he was the more outwardly empathetic of the two.

Mustang watched impassively until a slight change in Sev's demeanor caught his eye. She'd caught sight of the syringe in Vince's hand and stiffened. She seemed to relax when Al kept talking to her, but Mustang recognized that look in her eye.

Sev no longer seemed to be entirely there as she sat and trembled, a hitch in her breath, and a glassy look on her face. It was a look Mustang was all too familiar with.

Roy had taken a step forward and opened his mouth to issue a warning when Sev turned to look at Vince and _snapped_.

Far quicker than Mustang had expected her to move, the chimera had spun around and latched onto Vincent's arm. Mustang immediately started moving as Edward frantically tried to pry her jaws off. This only succeeded in making her bite down even harder.

"Fullmetal!" Roy shouted, getting the boy's attention as he easily crossed the short distance, "Move!"

Ed did so, and Mustang grabbed Sev by the collar. With a jerk of his arm, he startled her enough to let go. Vince hissed through his teeth as Roy dragged her off of him.

Alphonse quickly dropped down to the vet's side to help stop the bleeding as Mustang lost his grip on Sev's collar.

She danced on the spot and leaped out of his reach before charging straight for him. He reached out to grab her, but she darted through his legs and swung her tail at his ankles as she went, throwing him off balance and sending him crashing to the floor.

"Ed!" Alphonse gasped as she turned her attention to the older brother.

Sev lunged at Fullmetal, bloodied teeth bared. Edward turned and held out his leg as if to make himself an easier target. Mustang's shout died in his throat as there was an audible _clang_ and Sev yelped.

 _Automail,_ Mustang remembered as he hurried back onto his feet and put himself on top of the chimera, who had still been trying to get a grip on the metal limb.

She thrashed around and hissed and bucked and tried to get Mustang off, but he had her pinned. The chimera's speed was nothing against his full weight. Her jerky movements subsided into shivers, and snarls trailed off into plaintive whines. It was almost as if she were… giving up, Mustang realized. The look on her face. He'd recognised it because he'd lived it. She'd been right back in whatever Hell she'd previously been kept in. If the chimerafights were anything like dogfights, getting trapped meant certain death.

Mustang looked up at his former subordinate. Ed was staring at Sev with a terrified expression. Whether scared for her or of her, Roy wasn't sure.

"Fullmetal," Mustang said, "Talk her down."

"Huh?" Ed seemed to snap out of whatever trance he'd been stuck in, "Talk her down?"

"Just talk to her, Fullmetal."

Roy knew that the chimera wouldn't listen to him in this state, but Edward had gotten through to her before. Perhaps the boy could do for her what Hawkeye and Hughes had done for him.

Edward looked at him for a moment and then glanced at Al, who had managed to find some gauze and was helping Vince. He looked back at Sev.

She had closed her eyes and lay trembling under Mustang, waiting for the end.

Ed took a breath and nodded.

"Okay."

* * *

Why were they hesitating? They had her right where they wanted her, so why were they dragging it out?

Her ears were ringing, and sounds were muffled. She pawed weakly at the floor one last time, as if it would help at all.

The smaller attacker crouched down in front of her. Oh, were they the one that was going to finish her off?

They were saying something.

Wait.

Attackers didn't say things.

Growled, roared, _screamed_ , maybe, but they didn't speak… not unless…

"H _-_ human?" she rasped. Were they like her? Were they taken and… and made into some creature?

"Yes," came a response, "you are."

The voice… it sounded so natural, not at all like a transmuted mess.

"No… You," she replied shakily, "Y-yes? You… y-you human?"

There was an odd moment of silence, as if the speaker were confused by the question.

"... Yes, I am, but so are you," they finally responded, "You're human too, Sev,"

This made her pause, "...I'm? I'm human?"

"Yes, you are," the voice was sharp, but not unkind, like they were stating a fact she should already know.

She hummed sadly, "No… Not anymore… Was,"

"You still are," came the reply, "and you're safe now, remember? I promised,"

It was at this point the chimera opened her eyes again, "Safe?"

The blond-haired person in front of her was certainly not a chimera, not that she could tell, anyways. He looked and smelled entirely human.

"Yeah. Safe," he smiled, but it seemed... Bittersweet, "You're safe now, Sev,"

Sev... That was…

Suddenly things started to gain more clarity.

"Sev... Sev safe," she said and looked up, "...Ed?"

He smiled again; this time it seemed more genuine, "Yeah, I'm Ed,"

She wheezed a little and tried to look behind herself, "Mus-tang?"

The pressure on her back relieved a little as whoever was sitting on her shifted positions, "Yes," was the curt response.

She seemed to nod to herself before looking around to find the other person she knew.

"Al-"

She stopped at the sight of the boy at the side of someone vaguely familiar.

Their arm had been wrapped in bandages, almost as if…

She started to tremble, "M-my fault?" She whimpered, and turned to look at Ed with wide eyes, "My fault he hurts?"

Ed looked uncomfortable. He averted his gaze and opened his mouth to respond, but the injured man interrupted.

"No," he said, "It wasn't your fault."

Sev turned to face him as best she could with Mustang still sitting on her. The injured man had an odd look on his face that she couldn't quite place… regret? Worry? Curiosity? She shook her head a little.

He scooted closer, "It's my fault; I was treating you more like an animal than a person and I startled you. I'm sorry."

Sev blinked. She blinked again and tilted her head, "...Sorry?"

The fair-haired man nodded, "Yes. I'm sorry."

He rubbed his bandaged arm absently, and Serv looked at it with concern. The man noticed and made an effort to stop.

"... Is it bad?" She asked softly.

The man didn't answer for a moment, but eventually managed a tight smile, "... I've had worse," he finally said.

That didn't do much to soothe Sev's nerves, but she accepted the answer with a shaky nod anyways.

The fair-haired man stretched out a hand towards her.

"Vince," Mustang warned.

"It's fine," the man replied, "Let her up."

Nothing happened for a moment, but slowly, Mustang removed himself from the chimera.

Sev stayed where she was for a moment before stiffly sitting up. She glanced at Vince's offered hand before leaning forward and sniffing it cautiously. She looked up at his face to try and figure out what he wanted her to do.

He had a soft smile on his face. Apologetic. Worried.

She looked down at his hand again. Sev tilted her head and lifted a paw. Was that what he wanted? The chimera uncertainly held out her paw towards Vince's offered hand.

The man blinked, and his small smile changed to a more amused expression as he reached out and shook her offered paw.

Sev churred in surprise, but didn't pull away until he let go. That… wasn't quite what she'd expected. Then again, she hadn't really known what to expect in the first place.

"Let's try again," she refocused as she realized the man was talking to her, "I'm Vince."

She blinked. Sev knew she should repeat the name, but…

She shifted her position a little and thought how best to approach her predicament. Her nose wrinkled a bit and she bared her teeth. Vince moved back slightly and Mustang seemed to prepare himself, but she wasn't trying to look threatening this time.

"Sss...vw-Wince?"

The name trailed off into a low hiss. She frowned at herself; that wasn't right. Sev could say her own name just fine, but something about 'Vince' just didn't want to sit well in her mouth. She made to try again, but looked up when Vince winced and chuckled sympathetically.

"I'm sorry, it is a bit of a hard name, isn't it?" he ran a hand through his hair, "Unfortunately, my last name isn't any easier…" he thought for a moment, "I suppose… you could call me Doc if you'd like?"

Sev tilted her head, "Doc?" she tested the word. Slowly she nodded, and what looked like a small smile tugged at the corners of her muzzle, "Doc... Is nice."

Vince grinned, "Doc it is, then."

* * *

Things went a bit smoother after that. Vince managed to talk Sev through the vaccinations and (thankfully) avoid another incident.

He'd said that he had had worse, and that was technically true, but jeez if that bite didn't hurt like heck. She'd been scared and thought she was back at those fights… It was no wonder she'd clamped down like her life depended on it; she probably thought it did.

He'd have to recheck the wound when he got back. Al had helped him clean and dress it, but it was definitely a rush job and he didn't want to risk infection.

Vince thought about surface level things and focused on what he was doing as he worked on Sev. If he hadn't, he never would have gotten past the shock of, "Oh my word she _talks_ ," because pretending like that was a normal thing was a lot harder than he was making it look.

Sev was no animal. She was -or at least she used to be- human. Any doubts Vince may have had regarding that fact were long gone.

Vince was finishing up and packing his bag when the younger Elric spoke up.

"Um, Doctor?"

Vince looked up, "Yes?"

"Well, we have to get Sev to another place but… we're not exactly sure how," he looked at Vince hopefully, "Do you have any ideas?"

Vince raised an eyebrow, "Another place?"

At this, Mustang stepped in and explained to him how they were going to relocate Sev to the Armstrong estate, but we concerned about how they were going to transport her there without her panicking.

Vince tapped his chin, "So you want a sedative? Just something to keep her calm, I mean."

He nodded.

"I think I know what will work... and avoid any more needles," he said with a sidelong glance at Sev.

He checked his bag, hoping he had what he was looking for. Vince produced a small bottle of a clear liquid and handed it to Mustang.

"Give her a few drops of that and she should stay pretty calm, maybe even sleep."

"What is it?" Ed asked, looking suspiciously at the bottle in Mustang's hands.

"Valerian," Vince responded, "It's an oil made from an herb; safe for people and most animals, so don't worry."

Ed nodded, seemingly appeased by this answer.

Mustang extended a hand and Vince shook it, "Thank you, Vince. You can send a bill to my office."

Vince paused. Was it ethical to ask for money for something like this? He opened and closed his mouth a couple times as he tried to think of what to say.

"Alright, will do," was what he finally said.

He'd just heavily discount it, maybe. He had to make a living after all, and he had the feeling this wouldn't be the last time he saw them, not by a longshot. He said goodbye to everyone and walked out of the lab.

Once outside, he half-collapsed against a wall.

"She talks," he said weakly, "Vince, just what have you gotten yourself into?"

Vince shook his head and started walking. He ran a hand down his face; perhaps he'd finally take his friend's offers of some stiff drinks… Or sleep… Yeah, sleep sounded good. Anything to get his mind off of… everything.

* * *

 **Not gonna lie, the beginning of this chapter was hard to write, but it's done now! Everything after the first line break was pretty fun, so that helped.**

 **Poor Sev's got some issues. Vince is questioning his sanity and life choices. Fun stuff.**

 **Thanks to all the new followers and as always, reviews and critique are greatly appreciated!**

 **Till next time,**

 **Jem**


	6. Cleaned Up

After Vince left, the boys got to work coaxing Sev to take a few drops of the Valerian so they could get her into Mustang's car. She fought it initially, but they finally managed to get a few drops on her tongue. She made a face and stuck her tongue out a few times as if trying to get the taste out of her mouth.

Nothing seemed to happen at first, but after about twenty minutes or so, the chimera's ears began to droop, and her movements became much more languid. The boys started to carefully guide her outside towards the waiting vehicle. She paused for a moment in uncertainty as she stepped outside and blinked slowly at the beginning of the sunset.

"Pretty…" she purred a bit dreamily.

Al chuckled softly at this and Ed looked at him a little helplessly. They ended up needing Mustang's help, as Sev was far too relaxed and captivated by the sky to be coaxed any further.

The general sighed and hefted Sev into his arms, causing her to give him a lazy yowl in protest as he carried her to the car and deposited her into the backseat. Ed and Al joined her on either side in case they needed to help keep her calm.

She curled up comfortably on the seat, paws hanging over the edge. She perked up a little when Mustang revved the engine, but the vibration from the motor lulled her enough to rest her head on her paws with half-lidded eyes. Every so often, a soft purr could be heard as Mustang drove to the Armstrong Estate. Alphonse chatted with his brother and occasionally stroked the increasingly calm chimera. She seemed to get drowsier as they went, thanks to the soft conversation and comforting rumble of the engine. By the time the car pulled up to a stop in front of the mansion, she was fast asleep.

* * *

Alphonse gaped up at the mansion before him. He'd expected it to be big, obviously, but seeing it in person was something else entirely. It almost seemed to block out all the stars in the darkening sky. One glance at his brother let him know that Ed felt about the same.

Al opened the door and stepped out of the car. He took another stunned glance at the building before turning to the sleeping chimera in the backseat.

"Sev? Hey Sev, it's time to wake up," he gently nudged her as Ed hopped out on the other side and walked around to stand next to his brother.

It took a little more coaxing, but Sev managed to open her eyes somewhat and groggily lift her head from the seat.

Al smiled softly, "There we go! Let's go inside, ok?"

Sev looked a little confused, but nonetheless managed to slide off of the seat and out of the car. She swayed slightly, but stayed on her feet as Ed closed the door behind her.

Alphonse giggled a bit, "Let's see if we can get you inside and-"

"OH, ELRIC BROTHERS!"

Both Ed and Al tensed up when they heard the booming voice of Major Armstrong echo across the estate and the subsequent heavy footsteps as he ran towards them. Despite the calming effects of the valerian, Sev yelped and immediately leaped on top of the closest familiar person, which just so happened to be Mustang. The general barely managed to stifle a yelp of his own as the chimera landed on his back and balanced herself precariously on his shoulders, fluffed up and hissing at Armstrong.

"How wonderful to see you again!" The major exclaimed as he ripped off his shirt and pulled both of the boys into a bone-crushing hug.

"It's… Good to s-see you too… Major!" Al managed to say between wheezes. Ed simply shouted curses and complained that he was being suffocated.

Sev looked ready to pounce on the Major when he grabbed the boys, but his discarded shirt fell and landed on her face before she could.

The reaction was immediate; she went completely still and silent.

Mustang took the opportunity to reach back and slide the chimera off of his back and heft her into his arms instead.

The boys had managed to escape Major Armstrong's embrace and Al moved to help Mustang remove the shirt from Sev's face, seeing as his hands were busy.

"There we- ...Sev?"

The chimera was shaking, and she was staring at nothing.

Al stroked her and she flinched back as if she'd been stung, looking at the boy in fright before fixing her stare on the shirt in his hands.

He glanced at it and held it up a little, "This is what's upsetting you?"

Sev's nose twitched and she growled softly.

Alphonse frowned and tossed the shirt back towards Armstrong. The man caught it, looking rather confused before shaking it off and striding towards the group.

The closer Armstrong got, the more tense Sev appeared until she broke into a low growl. Armstrong paused for a moment, but then continued to make his way towards them all.

Alphonse moved to warn him when he realized that Sev had begun to bare her teeth and increase the volume of her growling.

"Major, I think-"

"Hey!" Mustang interjected, "Cut that out!"

Everyone turned to look as he quickly tightened his grip on a now-writhing Sev. She had made an attempt to lunge at Major Armstrong when he, apparently, stepped too close for comfort.

Al quickly stepped between her and Armstrong, putting up his hands in a calming gesture, "Sev! It's alright! Major Armstrong is a friend!"

Sev stopped her attempts to attack the major, but she kept growling and her tail continued to lash, "B-bad man. Big 'n…smells like… like light-ning… W-won't fight! Won't!" she started to struggle against Mustang's grip again as he and the Elrics realized what she must've meant, "S-said… safe! Safe now! W-won't!"

Mustang shifted and tightened his hold again as Al started speaking softly to her again. Out of the corner of his eye, Alphonse saw his brother talking to Armstrong and getting him to back away.

"Hey," Al crouched down slightly so he was more eye level with the chimera, "Sev you _are_ safe, ok? You're right; we promised."

Sev stopped squirming quite so much once Al's voice finally seemed to get through her panic. The younger Elric continued murmuring soft reassurances to the chimera until she sat still, albeit shivering, in Mustang's arms once again.

"See? You're alright. I'm sure Armstrong didn't mean to frighten you; he's just… easily excited." Alphonse began to stroke her gently as she calmed down somewhat.

"B-big n'… n' loud… m-makes us fight…"

"I promise Armstrong won't make anyone fight, ok? He's a friend."

At this, Sev looked up at Al, "Friend? He hurt… hurt Ed and Al…"

Al blinked and then chuckled a bit, "No, it's alright! He didn't really! He just… doesn't quite realize how strong his hugs are. He would never hurt us on purpose."

"Oh…" Sev glanced at Armstrong for a moment; he was speaking with Ed a relatively safe distance away, "Sure?"

Al nodded, "Positive."

Sev was quiet for a bit as she looked at Armstrong again, "… Fine… Arm-strong, friend…"

Alphonse smiled and patted her gently, "Don't worry, he really is nice, you'll see!"

She huffed a little, but didn't say anything else on the matter. It was about then that she seemed to realize Mustang was still holding her. She turned to look at him as best as she could.

"...Down?"

"Gladly," Mustang mumbled as he lowered her back to the ground.

Sev shook herself off as Ed came back over to the group.

"I explained the situation to the Major," he said, sounding annoyed, "So hopefully he'll be at least somewhat quieter."

"You know he can't help it, Brother," Al soothed, "He's just a bit… excitable, is all."

Ed rolled his eyes a bit, but turned his focus to Sev. The chimera was watching Armstrong cautiously as the man came towards the group once again. This time, however, he stopped a fair distance away and crouched down in an effort to get more on Sev's level.

"OH, SEV!" he cried out at a... somewhat subdued volume, "Edward Elric told me all about your tale of woe! Allow me to apologize for frightening you so! I do hope we can learn to get along!"

"Wow, he really is showing restraint, isn't he?" Al mused with a slight chuckle as Armstrong continued to apologize profusely to the wary chimera, "He hasn't tried to hug Sev at all."

* * *

The brothers found it hard not to gape when they entered the mansion. It was lavishly decorated, and far more spacious than any other home they'd seen.

"You could fit our old house into this one like… fifty times," Ed whispered to his brother.

Al simply nodded, unable to find the right words.

Sev simply seemed curious. Mansion or not, this was simply a new place to scope out, so she padded around, straying as far as she dared from the Elrics to sniff interesting pieces of furniture; keeping a cautious eye on Armstrong as she did so.

"Welcome to the Armstrong estate, young Elric brothers!" the major exclaimed as they made it to the main hall, "This property has been passed down the Armstrong line for generations!"

Armstrong likely would have led them on an extensive tour of the building if not for Mustang cutting in to keep him on track.

"Major Armstrong, why don't you show them to their rooms and then I'll fill you in on what exactly needs to be done."

"But of course!" Armstrong heartily agreed and swept the boys and Sev off to some guest rooms, describing to them in detail about everything they saw along the way.

After a little discussion, Ed and Al managed to talk Armstrong into letting them share a room like they usually did, with Sev in another room right next door.

They stopped outside of the room they were going to use for Sev and Armstrong opened the door for them.

"It's a bit on the smaller side, but I think she will find it most comfortable!" Armstrong told them, seeming pleased with himself. The brothers decided not to tell him that this "small" room was larger than their shared room was back home.

Sev stepped warily through the doorway and sniffed a bit before wandering a bit more to explore the space. It was decorated relatively simply with light shades of blue and green and a mural on one wall depicting rolling fields. There were some basic pieces of furniture; a bed, a side table, a dresser, an armchair, a good sized bookshelf, and a large chest of some sort. Armstrong explained that it had been a child's room at one point.

They watched as Sev sniffed interestedly at every bit of furniture, taking extra time at the bookshelf before she stopped at the chest. She tilted her head slightly before nosing at the lid, giving a pleased sounding "hurr" when it opened slightly. She nosed it open further until Al walked over and opened it the rest of the way for her.

She put her front paws on the lip and looked inside, the tip of her tail wagging slightly at whatever it was she'd found. Backing out of the chest, she held a plush rabbit gently in her mouth. She purred softly, evidently pleased with her finding.

"What did you find there?" Alphonse asked softly.

Sev's response was rather muffled by the stuffed animal, so she gently set it down by her paws.

"Sssoft," was her simple response.

"Looks like a soft little bunny to me," he agreed.

"Bunny?" she looked down at the toy and nodded slightly before looking back up at Al, "Bunny!"

Al chuckled, "She looks a bit like you."

While Al talked to Sev about her newly acquired bunny, Ed asked Armstrong where the bathroom was so they could get Sev cleaned up.

"But of course, Edward Elric!" he exclaimed, "In fact, you may even use my own, personal bath during your stay!"

Ed and Al glanced at each other, but followed the major down the hall once again.

* * *

"That's a bath?!" Edward exclaimed before he could stop himself.

Armstrong's bath was absolutely gigantic. Ed thought it looked more like a swimming pool.

It had to have been at least eight feet across and built into the floor with multiple faucets lining the sides… as well as busts depicting various Armstrong ancestors.

"This is insane!" Ed whispered loudly to Al.

Alphonse nodded and hummed softly in agreement, "I don't think Sev likes it much."

Ed glanced at the chimera. True to his brother's word, she was standing behind them, hackles raised slightly and gaze darting warily around the room. She seemed uncomfortable with the whole situation.

Edward turned back to Armstrong, "Major… Do you maybe have a different bathroom? One that isn't so-"

"Extravagant?" Al piped in before Ed said something potentially rude to their host, "We just need something simple; I think a smaller tub might make Sev a little less nervous."

"Oh, but of course young Elrics! Right this way!"

The brothers glanced at each other, and Ed gave a quick, "Come on, Sev," before following the major down the hall once again.

Armstrong led them to another door and opened it, revealing a still large, but much simpler bathroom. The decor seemed familiar somehow; tapestries in red and gold adorned the walls, and the shelves had intricate sculptures placed along them. The striking red porcelain appliances had black accents to tie in with the decor.

"This is one of the bathrooms Catherine helped redecorate!" Armstrong told them proudly, "She was so very inspired by her trip to Xing."

Edward grinned and looked at his brother, "This is much better."

Al gave him a knowing smile, "You just like all of the red."

Ed huffed, "It's a great color! Besides, Sev likes it better anyways."

True to his word, the chimera seemed much less hesitant to explore this room than the last. She sniffed curiously at the cabinets and set down her bunny to try and nose her way into one.

"The soaps will be in that upper cabinet," Armstrong told them, "I'll leave you to it! Dinner will be served within the hour!"

With that, the major left, leaving the Elrics and Sev on their own.

Edward went to grab the soap while Alphonse started running the water in the tub. Along with the soap, Ed found a couple of different hair products.

Once the water was warm enough, Al stopped the drain, "Alright Sev, ready for a bath?"

The chimera went rigid.

Ed blinked and crouched down, "Woah, hey. You okay?"

Sev hissed slightly, "No."

"Sev-"

She backed herself to the opposite end of the room, "No bath."

The brothers glanced at each other and Al spoke up, "Why not, Sev? What's wrong?"

Sev curled herself around her rabbit, "Bad. Cold. Hurts."

Ed frowned, "This one's warm, and it doesn't hurt."

"No."

With a sigh, Ed stood back up and took off his shoes, "Here, I'll show you," he rolled up the legs of his pants and stepped into the warm water, "See? It's fine!"

Sev looked concerned, "Leg…"

Ed looked down, confused, before realizing she must have been talking about his automail, "Yeah, that one's automail."

"...Hurts?"

He shook his head as he stepped back out of the tub, "Not so much anymore. Anyways, are you ready for your bath now?"

Sev still looked unconvinced.

Ed walked over to her, "Alright, well. Might as well get it over with, yeah?" before she could protest, he'd picked her up. She wasn't a fan.

"No! No no no no no!" Sev protested and flailed around to try and escape his grip.

"Brother…"

"It's alright, Al," he readjusted his grip as Sev hit him with her tail and nearly slipped away, "Sometimes you've just gotta face your fears, right?"

Al just hummed, unsure, as Ed finally managed to get the protesting chimera over to the tub.

"In we go!" he said as he gently set her into the water.

She splashed around for a moment and made to jump out, but Ed kept her in the water as Al spoke softly to calm her down. After a moment, she calmed down and seemed confused.

"...Warm…"

Ed chuckled, "See? I told you!"

Sev heaved a big sigh and sunk down into the warm water until she was lying down. She rested her chin on the side so her head stayed above water level. She purred loudly and closed her eyes as she relaxed.

With a laugh, the brothers got to work scrubbing the dirt and grime out of her fur, making sure to take care around her scars. They had to drain and refill the tub multiple times before the water stayed clean.

After that, the hardest part was convincing her to get back out.

* * *

It took a while to towel Sev dry enough that she stopped shaking herself off. The boys sat back once they finished, tired out from the effort.

Al watched Sev for a moment until a grunt from his brother got his attention.

Ed had gotten to his feet and held out a hand to help heft Al to stand as well, "How about we see what they've cooked up for us in that fancy kitchen?"

Al laughed, "Sounds good to me! Hey Sev, you wanna eat?"

The speed at which the chimera stood straight up, ears perked, staring at the boys with wide eyes caught them off guard.

A quick glance at her ribcage, still visible through her fur, caused Al to chuckle awkwardly, "Yeah… dumb question…"

With that, they headed downstairs, following the directions Armstrong had given them earlier that led to an ornate dining room, Sev hopping around their heels and running ahead impatiently as they went.

Upon entering the room, they found Major Armstrong sitting at the table with most of his sisters. At the sight of so many… brawny individuals, Sev hung back behind the Elrics once again.

"Ah, Elric brothers! Glad to see you've made it!"

The brothers greeted him in return; Alphonse politely, Ed a bit more curtly. Sev stayed quiet, but her impatient, excited sniffing could be heard.

"Please, sit!" Armstrong exclaimed, "I shall have them bring out the meal now that you have arrived!"

He bustled away, presumably to the kitchen, as the brothers took a seat, Sev sitting on the floor between them.

There was an awkward silence as they were now alone with Armstrong's sisters.

Ed leaned over to Al, staring at two of the sisters, "There's more of them," he whispered loudly.

"Brother! Don't be rude!" Al whispered more softly back. Even still, he did have to admit; other than the youngest sister, the resemblance to the major was… unsettling.

"Um, hello," Alphonse cleared his throat and decided to try and break the silence, "I don't believe we've met."

The two older sisters merely nodded their greeting, but the youngest seemed somewhat more outgoing.

"Hello," she said softly, "I'm Catherine and that's Amue and Strongine," she gestured to each as she introduced them.

Al nodded, "Nice to meet you, I'm Alphonse, and that's Edward," he paused, realizing they probably already knew that, "and the chimera under the table is Sev."

She smiled slightly, "Nice to meet you too; Alex has told us all about you."

Al chuckled, "All good things, I hope?"

At that, she gave what almost looked to be a mischievous grin, "Perhaps."

Ed bristled slightly and looked about ready to make a retort when the major returned. With him came people baring platters of food, effectively distracting Ed from whatever it was he was about to say.

"Dinner is served!" Armstrong exclaimed, taking his seat once again. Following him were several staff members bearing covered trays of food.

Al thanked the server when they placed a platter in front of him and uncovered it with a flourish. He was somewhat embarrassed about the fact that his brother dug right in, though no one seemed to pay it much mind.

He looked down when he heard Sev whine. She was sniffing and looking longingly at the table.

"Don't worry, Miss Sev!" Armstrong assured from across the table, "You haven't been forgotten!"

She tilted her head at that, but was quickly appeased when a bowl was carefully set down on the floor. Sev took a single sniff before burying her muzzle in the warm broth.

"Chicken soup," Armstrong said, "Simple, but good for the soul."

Al smiled softly and nodded. He glanced at Ed and knew his brother was also thinking about the times their mother would make the comforting meal for them as children.

"So, did Mustang leave?" Al asked.

Ed mumbled something about the general under his breath.

"Ah, yes. He said something about debriefing his team."

Al hummed in understanding.

After that, the meal lapsed into a comfortable silence, with light conversation here and there.

Sev finished her food even faster than Ed, and as a result, took to staring hopefully at everyone's plates. Everyone agreed they shouldn't give her extra off of their plates… Most everyone failed at refraining.

The chimera seemed to be especially content to sit near Catherine after that.

Once everyone had eaten their fill, the boys bid the Armstrongs goodnight and headed to their room.

Sev lagged behind, a full belly likely making her comfortable and tired once again.

Ed and Al took her to her room and helped lift her onto the bed.

Al made sure she was comfortable and wished her a soft 'goodnight' before he and his brother went to their own room.

Al had changed into a sleep shirt, folding up his previous clothes and placing them neatly in a drawer. He looked across the room towards Ed's bed and frowned when he saw his brother's day clothes tossed haphazardly on the floor by the bed. He looked up to tell Ed to pick up after himself, but stopped.

Ed was already in his nightclothes, sitting on the bed with his knees pulled up to his chest. He was looking out the window, looking contemplative.

"Brother… What's wrong?"

Ed didn't respond right away, but that was alright, Al was patient.

"What if… What if we can't fix this?" He finally said, "What if we fail again and we can't save her… like we failed Nina."

"Ed-"

"And don't say everything will work out, because we both know it might not."

"I wasn't going to," They both went quiet.

"Look," Al walked over and sat next to his brother, "It might not work out like we hope. To be completely honest, it probably won't."

Ed scoffed quietly.

" _But_ ," Al continued, "That doesn't mean it's impossible. Maybe it won't work out, but we can at least give Sev a fighting chance, right?"

Ed finally looked his brother in the eye.

"We can't give up before we even start, Ed," Al said firmly, "If we were the types to quit, I wouldn't be sitting in front of you right now, and you know it."

Ed simply stared for a moment before he broke into a grin, "You're right, Al. We can't give up. We're gonna do now what we couldn't do for Nina then, it's the least we can do for her."

Al grinned right back, glad to see the determined fire still burning bright in his brother's eyes.

* * *

Olivier had returned to the mansion later that night, and was making the rounds of the building before she headed to her quarters for the night. It wasn't strictly necessary, considering they had security on the estate, but she felt more confident about the security of her family knowing she'd checked the grounds herself.

She'd rounded another corner when she had the distinct feeling she was being followed. Without faltering her steps, she continued down the hallway, discreetly placing her hand on the hilt of her sword.

Whoever was following her didn't seem to be trying hard to be quiet, though that wasn't to say they were loud; in fact, had Olivier not been so aware of her surroundings, she likely wouldn't have noticed. Something was off about the soft footfalls; it almost sounded like there were multiple people, but they were too rhythmic and low to the floor. Crawling? That was… odd.

She'd taken a path that led down towards a floor length mirror. In the reflection, she something low to the ground with glowing red eyes. A homunculus?! She thought they'd destroyed the last of them on the Promised Day.

Olivier waited until they'd gotten closer before whirling around and unsheathing her sword to point it at the intruder.

There was a terrified yelp, and the intruder dropped something before bolting down the way they'd come. Whatever it was, it had been small and appeared to be an animal of some sort.

Olivier nearly went after the intruder but looked down to see what they'd dropped. She nearly scoffed; a stuffed animal? That's when everything clicked. The intruder was a chimera, more specifically, the chimera her soft brother had told her was staying here with the Elrics.

She frowned; leave it to Alex to let such a timid creature stay in their home.

Without so much as another glance at the stuffed animal, Olivier sheathed her sword and made to finish her security check.

* * *

Sev woke up with a start, breathing hard. For a moment she panicked, not remembering where she was. She looked around frantically until her gaze settled on her bunny. The chimera heaved a shaky sigh and pulled the plush close to her chest. That was right. Yesterday. Ed and Al. The big house. Not a cage, not a fighting ring, not a chalky circle. She huffed softly and got to her feet, picking the bunny up gently by its scruff.

She jumped off the bed and padded over to the door. She nosed at it a couple of times, but nothing happened. Sev grumbled a bit and steadied herself before hefting her front paws off of the ground. Using the extra height from standing on her hind legs, she batted at the door handle before losing her balance and dropping back down.

The door swung open slightly and she was able to nose her way out. Once in the hallway, she paused, unsure of why exactly she'd gone out there.

She sniffed around a little and grew curious. Someone new? Sev sniffed again. She'd smelled this person earlier, but hadn't seen them; the scent here was relatively fresh. Mind set, and curiosity piqued, she followed the scent trail.

She found the mystery person walking down a hallway. The chimera followed cautiously. Who was this? They seemed so confident.

Sev padded up to try and get closer to get a better look when the person whirled around, brandishing a weapon. She yelped in fear and bolted back the way she'd come, tripping over her paws before she picked up speed.

She wasn't certain where she was running to, but caught the scent of Ed and Al and veered towards it, ending up at their door. She hopped up and opened the door before dashing in. They'd protect her!

The boys stirred, and Al sat up, rubbing his eyes.

"Ed? Is that-" he froze, staring at Sev.

"No. P-Pride? How?!"

Sev shrunk back and whimpered, looking down. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea…

"Wait… Sev?"

Al relaxed slightly and leaned forward, "Oh gosh, Sev it's you."

He got out from under the covers and moved to the floor, "Hey, it's alright, come here."

Sev looked back up and hesitated before walking over, not missing the way Al's breath caught a little when she looked him in the eye.

He held out his hand, "What happened?"

She looked at his hand for a moment before leaning her face into his touch and closing her eyes, "L-lady… sh-sharp… try to hurt…"

Al frowned a little, "Lady…? Oh!" he sighed, "You must've run into General Armstrong…"

He rubbed her comfortingly behind the ear, "I'm sorry, Sev, General Armstrong can be a bit… intimidating, but she's got a heart… somewhere… probably. You probably just startled her, with it being dark and your eyes and all."

Sev tilted her head a bit at that, "Eyes?"

Al blinked, "Oh. I guess you wouldn't know, would you…? Sev, your eyes, they catch the light, I guess, and sorta glow red, especially in the dark like this. It can be a bit… unsettling if you're not expecting it."

"Oh…" Sev looked down, "S-sorry…"

Al sighed softly through his nose and stroked her, "Hey, it's not your fault."

He smiled tiredly at her, "So what are you doing up so late? Bad dream?"

Sev tilted her head again before nodding slowly. It had been a bad dream. She'd been back in a cage, back in that ring… She shook her head as if to clear the thoughts away.

Alphonse hummed softly, "...Do you want to sleep in here?"

The chimera thought for a moment before nodding again. Yes… Ed and Al were safe; she could trust them.

"Alright," with a bit of effort, Al stood up and got back into his bed with a yawn, "You can stay in here then."

For a moment, Sev sat where she was, unsure of where she should go. Eventually, she climbed up onto Al's bed and curled up near his feet. He mumbled a little, but not much else; he was already fast asleep.

Feeling much safer, she was able to doze off soon after.

She roused once upon hearing the door open softly.

Sev opened her eyes and nearly growled at whoever was there, but stopped when her stuffed bunny was placed next to her. She sniffed at it a little and looked back up, but whoever had brought it back to her was already gone.

That didn't really matter, she supposed as she pulled the bunny close and closed her eyes once again, considering Alex's scent was all over it.

* * *

 _Oof. That took a lot longer than I planned and I apologize. This chapter did not want to get written, but I hope it's alright! It's extra long too. I thought we should give Sev a bit of a break, so I let her have some fluff this time round._

 _Hopefully, I won't take as long to get the next chapter out._

 _As always, thanks for reading, please leave a review to let me know what you think and how I can improve!_


	7. A Brief Interlude

"Alright," Mustang spoke to his crew back at headquarters, "We will continue to carry out our regular duties, but I have some extra assignments for you all."

Everyone in the room sat up at that.

"What kind of duties?" Falman spoke up.

"...Does it have to do with that chimera?" Havoc asked quietly.

"It does," Mustang nodded.

The room got quiet; they'd all heard about the chimera by now.

"Breda, Falman, you're on info gathering. I want to know who was running this operation and where they went."

The two men nodded in understanding.

"And… if possible, find out who Sev used to be and where she came from. Same goes for the deceased human chimeras, but she's your priority. If she has family, why she was targeted; anything you can dig up."

He turned to face the others, "Feury, you help them where you can."

The youngest member of the group nodded seriously.

"All of us will take turns providing security detail for the Elrics and Sev. We don't know if the alchemists who created the chimera will come back or if they'll want to get rid of it to further cover their tracks."

He sighed and ran a hand over his face, "Besides the point, we need to make sure the Elrics don't run themselves ragged trying to figure this out. Make sure they take breaks and eat and sleep."

There was a soft snort of amusement from Havoc, "With all due respect, Boss, you make it sound as if we're gonna be babysitting those boys."

There was soft laughter from the rest of the men as Mustang sighed, "They can take care of themselves, we're just… making sure they actually do so."

Hawkeye hummed softly, "We all know how they get when they're focused on a task; especially when said task focuses on helping someone other than themselves."

The men murmured softly as they recalled several such instances.

"Not to mention the fact that Edward has a knack for getting into fights." she continued.

Mustang nodded, "And he no longer has automail nor alchemy to aid him if he does so."

"That being said," Hawkeye leveled her serious gaze at Mustang, "These assignments, while important, won't get in the way of your existing duties, right sir?"

Mustang swallowed and nodded, "Of course, Lieutenant-"

"Good," she straightened up, "because you have quite a bit of work to catch up on from earlier today."

Mustang sunk down slightly in his seat as she dropped a stack of papers on the desk in front of him. He glared at his men to silence their amusement before grumbling to himself and getting started.

* * *

 _A very brief interlude indeed._

 _I wanted to put this in the last chapter, but it didn't quite fit, and it didn't quite want to go in the next chapter either so it's going here as a bit of an in-between._

 _In other news! If you like music, I've put together a Spotify playlist based on Humanity, so feel free to check that out here:_ _open. spotify playlist/ 3vK9rFhErhFlNz7ZB0jK2S (take out the spaces tho)_

 _Also, if you want to see art and stuff for Humanity, check it out on my tumblr! It's all tagged here: jemwolf. tumblr tagged /Humanity-fanfic /chrono (Once again remove the spaces)_

 _Thank you all so much for reading and all of the great feedback! I try to answer all of the reviews and comments I get through PM, but sometimes I forget or get distracted, so I apologize if you never got a response._

 _Keep being awesome!_

 _-Jai_


	8. An Announcement and Some Fluff

_Hey guys! I know I know I haven't been super active as of late anyway, but I want you to know I'm officially going on hiatus!_

 _I am serving a full-time mission in Hamilton New Zealand, and I'll be there- off of social media- for the next year and a half._

 _It's been a pleasure getting to know you all and I hope you're still here when I return!_

 _For now, I leave you with this, it's far from finished, but I've been working on it long enough that I'd like you to see it anyways._

 _Thanks for everything! I'll be back sooner than you think!_

 _-JemWolf_

* * *

Alphonse, ever the early riser, was the first to wake up the next morning and found himself confused to feel something lying at his feet. He scooted back and sat up to get a better look to find Sev lying there. It took him a moment to process the fact that the chimera was curled up at the foot of his bed, and just a moment longer to remember why that was so.

Satisfied once he recalled the events of the previous night, he lifted his arms to stretch. When he opened his eyes again, he saw Sev looking back at him.

"Did you sleep alright?" He asked.

She blinked and stared at him for a moment before lifting her head slightly and nodding.

He smiled softly at her, "That's good to hear. I'm sorry General Armstrong scared you last night, especially right after waking up from a bad dream."

She ducked her head and gave the closest equivalent to a shrug that a chimera could accomplish before slowly uncurling herself and stretching herself out. It took her a moment as she leaned backward and then forwards, stretching her legs out as far as she could in a sort of instinctual ritual. With a final yawn and a flick of her tail, she sat down on the foot of the bed and looked at Alphonse.

Al smiled and held out his hand, palm down. She already knew him, but it wouldn't hurt to let her continue to get used to him or get her permission before he touched her.

Sev leaned forward and sniffed at his hand before placing her nose underneath and rubbing against it so he would start to stroke her.

Al obliged, giving the top of her nose a gentle scratch before scooting a bit closer to stroke her.

The chimera closed her eyes and let out a low, rumbling purr at the contact.

Alphonse chuckled softly and continued to run his hand from the top of her head down the back of her neck, stopping occasionally to scratch behind her ears.

"Maybe we can see about getting this collar off today," he mused, feeling the leather band as he continued to pet Sev.

Sev just gave a non-committal hum in reply.

They remained quiet for a moment longer before a thought suddenly struck Alphonse.

"Hey… Sev?"

She opened one eye to look at him in question.

"Do you… Do you have to go to the bathroom?"

It had suddenly hit him that he wasn't sure if she'd done so since sometime the previous day.

She blinked and just stared at him for a moment before nodding slowly, looking almost embarrassed.

"Oh… um… Hey, Ed?"

His brother just grumbled sleepily in response.

"Brother!"

"Mnn… What, Al?"

"Sev needs to um… relieve herself."

At that, Edward sat up, looking more awake, "Oh."

The brothers looked at each other for a moment, silently debating. Could they teach Sev to use an actual toilet or would she just have to go outside?

Sev just looked between the two of them, seeming confused about the whole situation.

Alphonse frowned, "Outside's probably gonna be easier for her…"

Ed sighed, but nodded, "You're right. Let's go find Armstrong."

* * *

It didn't take too long to find the Major and ask where outside Sev could relieve herself and go there.

Once done, Sev busied herself with sniffing anything and everything new (which, to her, was basically everything). She seemed particularly taken with flowers, and spent a good ten minutes just rolling in the grass, toting her stuffed rabbit along with her through the large estate.

Ed and Al found a bench where they could keep an eye on Sev as she explored and discussed their next move.

"I think we should go to the library to start researching," Ed said.

"At least one of us should stay with Sev at any given time though," Al replied.

Ed nodded, agreeing to the statement, "You're right… Who should do what first, then?"

Al hummed softly, watching Sev frolic under a tree as he pondered, "I think… I think you should go to the library first and I can stay with Sev? We can swap in a few hours, or just alternate every day or something."

Edward nodded again, "Sounds like a plan. Alternating every day seems like a good idea, knowing how we study."

He smirked a bit and Alphonse chuckled, "You've definitely got a point there."

Al looked back over towards where Sev was playing, only…

"Where'd she go?!"

Ed blinked and looked over with mild panic, "Sev?"

Both of the brothers stood up and quickly made their way over to the tree where they'd last seen her.

"I don't understand; we only looked away for a second!" Al exclaimed, "Sev! Where'd you go?"

Ed was about to respond, but he was interrupted by a low yowl. The brothers looked at each other in confusion, and then they looked up.

There was Sev, lounging fairly high up on a sturdy tree branch. She looked a bit upset as she looked down at the ground.

"Dropped her…" she mumbled.

Alphonse looked down and saw Sev's toy lying in the grass, "Oh, your bunny…" he said as he crouched down to pick it up.

"How did she…? Surely she couldn't have climbed up there that fast?" Ed had a hand to his chin, apparently trying to puzzle out how Sev had managed to get herself into this situation.

Stuffed animal in hand, Alphonse looked back up at the chimera, "Sev… can you… are you able to get back down?"

Sev tilted her head a little and blinked. The chimera sniffed a bit, and then stood up slowly on the branch while the brothers watched with bated breath. She gave the tree branches below her a once-over and then began her descent. Sev hopped down to a lower branch surveyed her path once again.

With an almost surprising grace, she made her way back down to the ground, alternating jumping from one branch to another or curling the end of her tail on a branch to walk her way down the trunk to the next tree limb. Once she was about four feet from the ground, she leapt off of the tree completely, landing on her feet; though she hissed a little and lifted her bad hind leg for a moment when he did. In under a minute, she'd made it from somewhere close to twenty feet up back to ground level.

"Sev," Al began as handed her the stuffed animal in his hands, "how did you get up there so fast?"

Sev paused in her reaching and tilted her head, "Jumped," she said simply, as if it should be obvious.

"You… jumped," Edward echoed, deadpan, "Twenty feet up."

The chimera huffed a little around the stuffed animal that was back in her mouth before lifting a forepaw to set it on so she could talk.

"Good jumper," she responded and gave another almost-shrug.

Ed and Al looked at each other, silently agreeing to drop the matter for the moment, but they would definitely revisit that comment.

"Alright then," Al said, "Are you ready to eat breakfast?"

Before Alphonse had even finished the question, Sev was hightailing it back towards the mansion.

* * *

After Sev more or less inhaled a plateful of scrambled eggs and a biscuit (and everything else that "accidentally" fell onto the floor) Edward left for the library, leaving Al to take care of her.

"Okay Sev, what would you like to do?"

Sev paused from grooming her face, "Oh… um… don't know…"

It occurred to Al just then that Sev probably hadn't ever had the option to choose to do something for herself.

"Alright, how about… how about I give you some options, and you can tell me which one sounds the most interesting?"

The chimera blinked and sat up a bit more, "O-okay."

Al smiled at her and thought for a moment, "We could… go back outside or play a game or… read a book?"

Sev's ears perked up slightly and she looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Out...outside," she paused, "Please."

Al smiled wider, rather charmed by her politeness, "Outside it is, then!"

He grunted as he slowly stood back up from where he'd sat on the floor. Al smiled down at Sev and patted his leg a bit to let her know to follow. Together they limped back outside.


End file.
